Stocks give up gains, head sideways
(WorldNews Business)

NEW YORK (AP) - U.S. stock indexes sloshed between small gains and losses Friday after Microsoft, American Express and other big companies offered up a mixed set of earnings reports. The big event for markets is still a couple weeks away, when investors expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates for the first time in more than a decade. Investors are trying to guess how big a cut will come and position themselves accordingly. Until then, they`re focusing on whether companies can top the meager expectations Wall Street has for the profits they made during the spring. Microsoft rose after reporting stronger earnings for April through June than analysts expected and helped technology...